


Getting Old

by LittleSweetCheeks



Category: Madam Secretary
Genre: F/M, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:48:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27104494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleSweetCheeks/pseuds/LittleSweetCheeks
Summary: It bothers Henry that he's not as young as he used to be.
Relationships: Elizabeth McCord/Henry McCord
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	Getting Old

Henry glanced up from what he was reading as he strolled through the White House halls at the sound of his daughter’s laughter. At the far end of the hall, near where the corridor turned toward the private quarters, Stevie had her head tossed back, too caught up in the way Blake had spun her into an embrace to remember where she was.

“It’s good to have young love in these halls again.”

He blinked and turned to see who spoke, finding Stu, a long-time staff member, at his side.

“The only time Harrison was ever close to that expressive was when your Stephanie came by to see him, but even then, it was clear they were only friends really.” The old man gave him a knowing smile. “Even when they tried to be more for a while.”

“Yeah.” Henry wondered just what else the staff knew about the families they cared for during their terms. Stevie squealed and he shifted his attention back down the hall with a small frown. His daughter was now held bridal style in her boyfriend’s arms, just like he used to do with his wife, as they vanished around the corner and up the stairs. Excusing himself from Stu’s company, he changed course from his own office to Elizabeth’s, peaking in to see if she was busy. “Hey, Babe.”

Elizabeth lit up. “Hey, you!” She sank back in her chair, offering him a grin. “Come to keep me company? Blake just went to lunch.”

“You should stop and eat too.” He tugged her to her feet. “Take a little time before another crisis comes along.” Henry pressed a kiss to her lips and held her close. When had they stopped being the young love other people were jealous of? For years, people turned and stared at the affection they shared openly for one another. Now it seemed like they were just a byline, old news.

They were old.

Shaking his head, he refused to accept that. He still loved Elizabeth fiercely and he’d kept in shape. Resolve filled him to be just as sweet and romantic as he’d used to be back when they were young and freshly in love so at the top of the stairs, he took Elizabeth by surprise and attempted to sweep her off her feet, earning a surprised cry as she clung to him.

“Henry!” She gasped. “What are you doing?”

“Showing you I can still love you like I used to.” He bit back the grunt that threatened to slip out. Thirty years ago, Elizabeth hadn’t built up any of the muscle she had now, nor had her body finished filling out into womanhood. Back then, she’d been rail thin and a good deal lighter. “Don’t wiggle.”

“Put me down, Henry, before you hurt yourself.”

“I got it.” He tried to keep breathing as he carried her to the bedroom. “I’ve still got it.”

“Henry!” She drew it out into multiple syllables.

He made it to the bed, dropping her safely before lying beside her, panting.

She pushed up on one elbow and shirked down at him. “If that was meant to be romantic, the huffing and puffing just doesn’t do it for me.” She paused. “Going to tell me what that was all about?”

“I wanted to be romantic.”

“Try again.”

“I used to do that all the time.”

“Over thirty years ago.”

“I love you so much.”

She rolled her eyes and stood, heading for the door. “When you’re ready to talk, I’ll listen.”

He was still panting as she vanished from sight. Dropping his head back, he wondered when he’d gotten so old.

=MS=

Now that he was aware of it, it felt like there was never a reprieve from the reminder of how he used to be with Elizabeth. Perhaps because they all now lived and worked under one roof, it felt like Stevie’s blossoming romance was always on display. There was always some reminder of the things he used to be able to do without first considering the impact to his back or knees. Instead of being thrilled that his daughter had finally found a good man to spend her life with, Henry found himself irritated at the reminders that he was no longer that young.

“Henry.”

He blinked, staring up at Elizabeth. They were lying in bed; she was looking down at him with a worried look on her face. “I’m fine.”

Elizabeth sighed. “Please talk to me. You’ve been distracted for weeks and… I miss my husband.” She flashed him a coy grin.

“I’m sorry.” He moved to begin to crawl out of bed, but she caught his arm.

“Talk to me, Henry.”

“I- I’m sorry. I’m sorry I can’t do al the things I used to be able to do when we were young.”

A crease formed between her brows. “Wait, is this about the thing a while back? When you carried me?” She tugged him back. “Henry…”

“It’s… I miss all the things I used to be able to do for you that I can’t anymore.”

“Well, we got older. That was bound to happen eventually.”

“We used to be the couple everyone stopped and stared at and talked about. The couple so in love with one another that they said we didn’t even notice the rest of the world.”

“What’s this- Where’s this coming from, Henry? We’re still that couple.”

“No- we’re not.” He hung his head. “We’re not the one people whisper about anymore or comment on how in love we are and… Somewhere I think I’ve stopped stepping up to do the little stuff that kept the romance alive.”

“Like what?”

“Surprising you. Making you laugh like I used to. The little romantic gestures.”

“Like?” She pressed again, still totally baffled as to where this problem was coming from.

“Being able to literally sweep you off your feet.” He sighed. “Giving you special treats you can’t just go buy yourself.”

Something clicked in her mind and a brow rose. “Like Hungarian chocolate truffles?” When he swallowed but didn’t turn to look at her, she carried on. “You have the connections to get me whatever you want from around the world, Henry, but you know full well that that’s not really my style. Maybe when I was in my twenties and I could still be impressed with someone using their connections to ask an aide to the Hungarian Ambassador to bring a box of truffles over, but I’ve matured beyond that. Now I’m impressed by a man who knows he’ll win me over even better with a bag of Chinese and a Scrabble board.”

Finally, he looked up at his wife. “Chinese and Scrabble, huh?”

“Always.” She giggled when his hands found her body under the covers. “I mean, I won’t say no to chocolate truffles either, but I prefer the ones from Germany or Switzerland. And I can just request them myself these days.”

He rolled so he was looking down at her. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“And you’ll give up the whole thing about wanting to carry me?”

“It’s romantic!”

She shook her head. “Again, when I was twenty maybe.” She pulled him down for a kiss. “There are lots of things you can do now that you couldn’t do when you were twenty.”

A smirk pulled at his lips then. “Maybe we’ll have to explore what those things are.”

“Maybe.”


End file.
